Page:Guide to the Bohemian section and to the Kingdom of Bohemia - 1906.djvu/33

25 the works of the humanists of the Bohemian Brethern. Of particular value are especially many finely illuminated manuscripts of the bible, „cantionales“ of Bohemian origin (beginning with the XIth. century) amongst them a precious Vyšehrad-codex from the XIIth. century with beautiful miniature paintings. The most prominent of these manuscripts are kept in a room adjoining the large library hall,. [sic] This Hall is unquestionably one of the remarkable productions of the late renaissance and is gorgeously adorned with frescoes, stuccoes and very decorative, gigantic and beautifully designed book-cases, which take up almost the whole height of the hall up to the fine railing of the lofty gallery.

Adjoining the library are the spacious rooms of the archiepiscopal seminary for secular priests with two very remarkable refectories (for summer and winter) which are adorned by frescoes and stuccoes similar to the library-hall. In the larger one of the two, the winter-refectory, an exhibition was held in 1791 by the Bohemian Estates and it is on record that this exhibition was the first large exhibition of industrial productions ever held in the whole of the civilized world. From the archiepiscopal seminary we stop out in to the Křižovnické náměstí (Square of the knights of the Cross) by a high archway which is now provided with a beautiful railing. From this gate we obtain a view which is one of the rarest in Europe. The eye first meets the grand and costly edifice of the Bohemian kings of the Luxemburg dynasty a unique example of architecture in Europe, then the Staroměstská věž mostecká (Old town’s Bridge-tower) through the high arch of which we obtain glances of the soft outlines of roofs and spires of the Malá Strana (Smaller town) and above them like a vision in a dream hovering in the spacious air the majestic edifices of the Royal castle, while in the foreground we see the sharply defined dark outlines of the bronze statue of the founder of the university and builder of the neighbouring bridge Charles IV., the „Father“ of his country; aboweabove [sic] which, on the right hand side, rises high the gigantic green cupola of the church belonging to the monastery of the Bohemian knights ot the Red Cross.

Further on we come to the Bridge tower itself, whose